Lending / consumer credit · Australia

Australian credit licence (ACL) (Australia)

The Australian credit licence (ACL) is issued by Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) under National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. It covers lending and consumer credit. It is valid in Australia only; each other market needs its own authorisation. Ownership changes need the regulator's approval before completion.

Last verified 2026-09-24Regulator ASICMarkdown · Data (CC BY 4.0)

At a glance

Official name	Australian credit licence (ACL)¹
Also known as	ACL · ASIC credit licence · Australian consumer credit licence · Australian lending licence
Issued by	Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Jurisdiction	Australia
Licence family	Lending / consumer credit
Legal basis	National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009¹
Passporting	Domestic only

What it lets you do

Lending	Granting loans, including consumer credit, mortgage credit, factoring and financing of commercial transactions.
Consumer credit	Granting or promising credit to consumers, including buy-now-pay-later, subject to consumer protection rules on information, creditworthiness and withdrawal.

Where it is valid

Valid in Australia.

Buying a company that already holds it

Notification only. Change of control is triggered when a person gains or ceases capacity to cast, or control the casting of, more than 50% of votes at a general meeting, or holds more than half the issued share capital, of an AFS licensee (Corporations Act s.910B). The licensee must notify ASIC of the change, via the Regulatory Portal, no later than 30 business days after the change occurs (s.912DA).²

Ready-made companies holding this licence: see verified positions.

Credit in other countries

Country	Licence	Regulator	Min. capital	Application fee	Statutory time
Australia	Australian credit licence (ACL)	ASIC	n/a	n/a	n/a
Cyprus	European Crowdfunding Service Provider authorisation	CySEC	n/a	n/a	n/a
Czech Republic	Non-bank Consumer Credit Provider licence	CNB	n/a	CZK 50,000	n/a
Czech Republic	Crowdfunding Service Provider authorizationCrowdfunding Service Provider authorization under ECSPR	CNB	n/a	CZK 20,000	~3 mo
Estonia	Operating licence as a credit servicer	FI	n/a	n/a	n/a
Estonia	Operating licence as a creditor	FI	n/a	n/a	n/a
Estonia	Authorisation as a crowdfunding service providerAuthorisation as a crowdfunding service provider under ECSPR	FI	n/a	n/a	n/a
Estonia	Authorisation for operating as a financial institution	FIU	n/a	EUR 3,300	~2.8 mo
Estonia	Operating licence as a credit intermediary	FI	n/a	n/a	n/a
France	European crowdfunding service provider authorization	AMF	n/a	n/a	~3 mo
Ireland	Crowdfunding Service Provider Authorisation (ECSPR)	CBI	n/a	n/a	n/a
Italy	European crowdfunding service provider authorization (ECSPR)	CONSOB	n/a	n/a	~3 mo
Latvia	Crowdfunding service provider authorization	LB	n/a	n/a	n/a
Lithuania	Crowdfunding service provider authorization	LB	n/a	n/a	n/a
Lithuania	Peer-to-peer lending platform operator	LB	n/a	n/a	n/a
Luxembourg	Crowdfunding service provider authorisation	CSSF	n/a	EUR 30,000	n/a
Netherlands	European Crowdfunding Service Provider (ECSPR) authorisationEuropean Crowdfunding Service Provider (ECSPR) authorisation under Regulation (EU) 2020/1503	AFM	n/a	EUR 200	~4.2 mo
Poland	Crowdfunding Service Provider authorizationCrowdfunding Service Provider authorization under ECSPR	KNF	n/a	n/a	n/a
Poland	Lending Institution registration	KNF	n/a	PLN 616	n/a
Slovakia	Crowdfunding service provider authorisationCrowdfunding service provider authorisation under ECSPR	NBS	n/a	n/a	n/a
Spain	European crowdfunding service provider authorization	CNMV	n/a	n/a	n/a
Spain	Specialized lending credit institution authorization	BdE	n/a	n/a	n/a
United Kingdom	Consumer Credit Full Permission Authorisation (Part 4A FSMA)	FCA	n/a	n/a	n/a

Values come from each licence's page, where every figure has its source.

Last verified 2026-09-24Author Danil Marmysh, Founder & CEO, ProtegraReviewed by Anastasia Sidorenkova, Head of Licensing, ProtegraReport an errorReference information, not legal advice.

Sources

legislation.gov.au: latest · retrieved 2026-09-24
asic.gov.au: change in control of afs licensee · retrieved 2026-09-24

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